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Justine Kwiatkowski Velez

2005 Public Policy Summer Fellow

May 1, 2005

Graduate Degree: Harvard Graduate School of DesignUndergraduate Degree: Middlebury College Areas of interest: Environmental IssuesAgency: Department of Strategic Planning and Community Development, City of SomervilleSupervisors: Jim Kostaras, Director, Department of Strategic Planning and Community Development and Ezra Glen, Chief Planner, Department of Strategic Planning and Community DevelopmentProject Description: Justine helped the Somerville Department of Strategic Planning and Community Development prepare for the Green Line extension by carrying out two urban planning projects. For the first four weeks of her fellowship, she projected growth scenarios on quarter-mile areas around future subway stops, with special attention to Union Square and the Inner Belt industrial district. The study identified potential development parcels around each stop in order to predict job growth, transit ridership, and tax revenues. Her goal was to help transform the Green Line into an engine of economic prosperity while improving the quality of life and of the environment. The team will present their findings to the State Office of Commonwealth Development in September. The remainder of her summer was spent developing a smart growth scorecard, a new policy that will help the city evaluate whether a proposed project will advance the long-term viability of the community or create negative impacts with little overall benefit.